Downloadsfreefile.com ads (virus) - Free Guide

What is Downloadsfreefile.com ads?

Downloadsfreefile.com does not actually provide what you need

Users get redirected to Downloadsfreefile.com by other shady sites

Downloadsfreefile.com is a site that uses social engineering techniques^[1] to trick not very tech-savvy people into installing a potentially unwanted program that will change the browser settings or display pop-up ads. The advertisements are particularly intrusive because sometimes they can appear even when the browser is closed. The software is created for the purpose of monetizing users' browsing.

The push notifications it starts sending generate revenue from every click you make,^[2] and changed homepage, new tab address, redirects do the same thing. Having this program installed poses a risk to user privacy and security. It does not provide any benefits, and in addition to making money from you, it tracks every move you make online.

The program can add an extension to your browsers that implements a fake search engine leading you to click on malicious links.^[3] You could easily get your machine infected with more serious viruses if you are not careful. Please read our article to learn how to remove it and bring your browsers to their primary state.

Usually, people do not come to sites like Downloadsfreefile.com on their own. They had to be browsing through shady web pages in the first place. For example, illegal streaming sites are full of deceptive ads that open new tabs. If a user is looking to watch a movie for free and clicks on a “Watch” button, which then opens this page in the new tab, they might get the impression that they do not have the correct software for the page to be able to play it.

But that is not true; the page we are writing about is not connected in any shape or form to the one you were on previously. It is just an ad that opened randomly, and it happened to match up with what you were looking for.

The app you downloaded from Downloadsfreefile.com performs unwanted tasks

The message that users see upon the opening of the site:

FREE

Your File Is Ready To Download

Play Now

By clicking the button below you will be prompted to install SevenZip. It is a free application and will allow you to play your file.

Play Now

It says that users will receive SevenZip,^[4] which is a legitimate file compression program, but instead, they receive a file called setup_44389.exe. It is not completely known what it does, but opening executable files can be quite dangerous. It can be the beginning of a serious virus infection. You should not install software from random pages on the internet. If you need 7-Zip, you can search the official site and get it from an official source. What is more, the program the users are informed they will get is not a media player and will not help “play your file.”

To avoid such mishaps in the future:

• You should install programs only from trustworthy distributors and not from randomly opened pages
• Before opening .exe files, make sure they are safe by scanning them with professional security software like SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner or Malwarebytes
• Avoid browsing through shady sites
• Do not rush through the installation process; check if there are no bundled software

Remove the program

You can use previously mentioned anti-malware tools for removal as well. Because if you accidentally installed more PUPs or even malware and did not know about it, you might not realize everything you need to delete. If you do not want to proceed with automatic removal, instructions for Windows and Mac operating systems are here:

Windows 10/8:

1. Enter Control Panel into Windows search box and hit Enter or click on the search result.
2. Under Programs, select Uninstall a program.
3. From the list, find the entry of the suspicious program.
4. Right-click on the application and select Uninstall.
5. If User Account Control shows up, click Yes.
6. Wait till uninstallation process is complete and click OK.

Windows 7/XP:

1. Click on Windows Start > Control Panel located on the right pane (if you are Windows XP user, click on Add/Remove Programs).
2. In Control Panel, select Programs > Uninstall a program.
3. Pick the unwanted application by clicking on it once.
4. At the top, click Uninstall/Change.
5. In the confirmation prompt, pick Yes.
6. Click OK once the removal process is finished.

Mac:

1. From the menu bar, select Go > Applications.
2. In the Applications folder, look for all related entries.
3. Click on the app and drag it to Trash (or right-click and pick Move to Trash)

To fully remove an unwanted app, you need to access Application Support, LaunchAgents, and LaunchDaemons folders and delete relevant files:

1. Select Go > Go to Folder.
2. Enter /Library/Application Support and click Go or press Enter.
3. In the Application Support folder, look for any dubious entries and then delete them.
4. Now enter /Library/LaunchAgents and /Library/LaunchDaemons folders the same way and terminate all the related .plist files.

Fix your browsers

After successfully removing the program you downloaded from Downloadsfreefile.com, it is time to take care of your browsers. There might be a couple of things still affecting them: changed homepage, new tab address, tracking by cookies. If you used your browser after installing the program, the questionable sites you visited could still see your activities.

If you do not want to go through the process of doing every little thing yourself, you can use a maintenance tool like FortectIntego that can do everything automatically. It can increase the performance of your machine as it can fix corrupted system files and errors too.

The manual guide:

Delete malicious extensions from Google Chrome:

1. Open Google Chrome, click on the Menu (three vertical dots at the top-right corner) and select More tools > Extensions.
2. In the newly opened window, you will see all the installed extensions. Uninstall all the suspicious plugins that might be related to the unwanted program by clicking Remove.

Clear cache and web data:

1. Click on Menu and pick Settings.
2. Under Privacy and security, select Clear browsing data.
3. Select Browsing history, Cookies and other site data, as well as Cached images and files.
4. Click Clear data.

Change your homepage:

1. Click menu and choose Settings.
2. Look for a suspicious site in the On startup section.
3. Click on Open a specific or set of pages and click on three dots to find the Remove option.

Reset:

If the previous methods did not help you, reset Google Chrome to eliminate all the unwanted components:

1. Click on Menu and select Settings.
2. In the Settings, scroll down and click Advanced.
3. Scroll down and locate Reset and clean up section.
4. Now click Restore settings to their original defaults.
5. Confirm with Reset settings.

Instructions for Mozilla Firefox, MS Edge, Safari, and Interner Explorer are down below.

You may remove virus damage with a help of FortectIntego. SpyHunter 5Combo Cleaner and Malwarebytes are recommended to detect potentially unwanted programs and viruses with all their files and registry entries that are related to them.